San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1887-08-04
Farming in Two States...Texas ana
PENNSYLVANIA.

Farming in Two StateS.''Iexas anu
Pennsylvania.
Ed. FREE Press: The great ques-
ton of farming should always be OF
interest, SO by your permission, we
would be glad to say few words by
way of contrasting these two states
above mentioned in that special in
terest. We wish to speak first, as to
how the land is owned in these two
states and who it is owned by.
Texas owns her land in large bodies,
Pennsylvania in small. In Texas the
land is owned principally by land
sharks and fossils, in Pennsylvania it
is owned by those who till it. The
system of owning land in only large
bodies hos been the curse of our state
beyond doubt.
It works u hardship and financial
defeat to the owner. It is fine in
speculation;. but won't pan out in
farming. 1t brings about a renting
system, which has been curse in all
countries. This is no new theory.
England is boiling and foaming over
the evil results of this system to-day.
In Russia and Germany it is Ereed-
ing its Nihilism and Socialism to
enter America with their full fedged
curses.
There is just one and only one way
a farmer can succeed in making a
living and have good society, and
that is.to own the land he cultivates.
Western Pennsylvania is noted for
this. Here the farmer is the owner.
The landlord once owned it, but he
soon saw the plan was poverty to the
agricultural class and defeat to every
social and moral interest of the coun-
try. The size of the farms here
ranges from 20 to 200 acres. That
which has not been divided up by
fathers and grandfathers, has been
cut up in small lots by the original
owners and sold out to poor laboring
men. You say, have they paid for
that land? We answer yes. Do
you ask what price? We answer
from $50 to 800 per acre.
This may sound strange to a Texas
cotton and credit man, yet it is even
81. Germans, Irish, Swedes and
go on this poor land with
out dollar and soon pay for home
at $75 per acre. Some may ask how
they do this. The plan is very sim
pie. They become producers and sell
for cash instead Of consumers to buy
on time.
Cotton land ioM not rent for liv-
ing to the renter and fair per cent.
10 the ownerl And no crop grown
in the United States, will stand the
enormous per cent. required to run
the renting system. We will now
Ieave renting, cotton and credit, and
speak of the farming here.
The poor man buys, we will say,
sixty acres. The first thing he does
IS to select about twenty-five of the
pest for pastures. This you could
not pay him enough to have it plowed.
The next thing is to get an income
rom that As soon as possible be
outs on say, four good brood mares.
From these be is soon able to sell one
,olt a year. This colt, well bred and
veil cared for, brings him from $50
n s225. He then gets on this same
PASTURE, generally about six Jersey
,ows From these be gets q calf
very year, and milks them all the
lme. Each COW is expected to pro-
luce two pounds Of butter per day.
This butter brings twenty cents here.
which is SO per month. and S144 a
rear on one Gov besides the calf
rhich is ten per cent on S14OO. This
mix be sells by gauges prepared for
hat purpose am does not have to
hum i at al Then every year CT
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